In his message in this month’s newsletter, chamber president Doug Brennan said the possibility of having about 40,000 retirees between the ages of 55 to 70 can happen.
Brennan said during the recent Saipan Economic Development Council meeting, the possibility of developing Saipan for “retirement communities” or more popularly known as the “silver market” was discussed.
Brennan said the idea has been studied and discussed in the past while the CNMI was still in control of its immigration system.
“We can still make it happen. Under the Consolidated National Resources Act of 2008, USCIS representatives have pointed out that we have the opportunity to become the first U.S. jurisdiction to be eligible for a U.S. sanctioned foreign retiree visa classification,” Brennan said.
He said if this happens, the retirees will be financially stable, educated and active members of the communities.
“These retirees would have friends and family that want to come and visit them on their island paradise, stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, play in our golf courses, dive in our clear blue waters, lie on our white sand beaches, and enjoy themselves. They will want to do a lot of things, require professional medical facilities with qualified physicians, and have a clean and safe environment to live out their golden years,” Brennan said.
Based on the CNRA, these retirees will not be eligible for employment so no jobs will be lost and they won’t be competing with the local workforce for local positions, he added.
“Combined with tourism, this will be a great service industry that will create the need for a wide variety of entry level, technical and professional jobs, jobs that our children and grandchildren can fill and earn a living wage at,” Brennan said.
The process needs to start with a request from Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Brennan said Saipan Economic Development Council chairman Bob Jones “deemed the idea worthy of pursuit and encouraged the governor to start the process at his earliest convenience.”
